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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 2482517" data-attributes="member: 143">Yeah, it's pretty much cliffhangers every post from here on out. When I wrote a lot of these updates I remember feeling physically worn out after finishing some of them... I hope you guys find them as intense. * * * * * Chapter 437“Dannel, no!” Mole cried, only able to watch as another of the Heroes of Cauldron fell, destroyed by a powerful enemy.  Flames engulfed the lichfiend as Dana called upon her last flame strike.  But the column of searing divine flame faltered as it struck the body of the Dark Myrakul, dissipating against the undead priest’s spell resistance.  It turned toward her, its mocking gaze terrible as its dark orbs pierced her, promising suffering to come.   But the master of Skullrot faced a more immediate problem as Lok lifted off of the ground, empowered by Dana’s fly spell, and knifed straight up toward it.  The genasi’s axe was not the ideal weapon against the resistances of the lichfiend, but the look on Lok’s face said that he would not be forestalled by any such hindrance.  The Dark Myrakul ignored him, focusing its still-active implosion spell upon Dana.  The priestess screamed as the magic gripped her, but staggering backward she drew upon every last reserve of her focus and determination, and was barely able to overcome the potency of the spell before it left her like Dannel, a crumpled mound of flesh.  Lok roared and lifted his axe in both hands, dropping his shield and focusing instead on an all-out attack.  Had he struck, he might have sundered even the unholy fabric of the lichfiend’s corporeal form, but as he drew within ten feet of it he rebounded off of an irresistible invisible shield.  Momentarily stunned, the genasi’s momentum carried him off to the side, beyond the lichfiend, as he reverberated from that barrier—an antilife shell—and slowly spun to a stop fifteen feet away.   Arun had strung his heavy bow, but what he’d seen thus far had told him that his shots would have no effect upon it.  If only he’d been able to close, with his holy avenger… but then the outcome of Lok’s aborted attack told him that the lichfiend had prepared against that contingency as well.  The paladin turned and retraced his steps back to where Dannel’s body lay.  Only the vague outline left by his garments and armor revealed that the gruesome remnants had once been a living man, but Arun did not spare thoughts for his friend now; this foe would not stop until all of them were either like the elf or forever imprisoned in the cages of Skullrot, their screams adding to the cacophony of insanity that filled the place.  The paladin saw what he wanted, and took up Dannel’s bow and magical quiver. Beorna had realized what he was about, and had followed him.  As Arun rose he held out the quiver, which on command had already produced several of the white-fletched arrows from its extra-dimensional space. A flash of light and a rush of air from the doorway to the golem laboratory announced Cal’s latest contribution to the battle; a shadow-eladrin, a bralani who rose up into the air toward the lichfiend, firing arrows from its holy longbow as it came.  Against the mundane and magical defenses of the Dark Myrakul, however, its attacks were little more than a distraction. Lok turned in mid-air and immediately came at the lichfiend again, lifting his axe to strike.  This time, however, as he neared its barrier he tensed and hurled his weapon at it.  The axe struck its body squarely and bounced back, doing little damage but certainly drawing its attention.  The Dark Myrakul gestured, and a black beam lanced into the doughty warrior.  Lok had faced dragons, fiends, and even gods, but he could not withstand the power of the energy drain as it mercilessly stole away a considerable fraction of his life-energy.  Already seriously injured by the horrid wilting, the genasi had no choice but to fall back, barely clinging to consciousness.  But Lok’s efforts had given the others a few precious moments to act.  Arun and Beorna opened up their own barrage of holy missiles, and while they lacked Dannel’s skill, they still managed at least one solid hit that further damaged the undead creature.  Dana had withdrawn into the cover of the archway and was engaged in a powerful summoning, while Cal was doing the same from within his own shelter.  Mole, unsurprisingly, had disappeared. The Dark Myrakul unleashed a terrible cry, a sound barely audible to normal hearing, but which seemed to grate upon the soul like fingernails drawn over a slate.  At first the companions thought they were under another magical attack, but the noise seemed to do no lasting harm, and they wondered what it portended. They did not have long to wait.“What in the Hells was that?” Beorna said, as she drew another holy arrow and fitted it to her bowstring.  As the two dwarves lifted their bows, they saw what looked like a huge black orb appear in the shadows high up near the summit of the spire.  The orb grew larger as it plummeted down toward them, taking on form, thick arms and legs, misshapen body…“Get back!” Arun yelled, pushing Beorna aside before retreating back in the other direction.  The Dark Mykrul calmly shifted position, moving out of the way of the plummeting newcomer, which streaked down past it to strike the floor below.  At the last moment it had unfolded considerable wings that caught the air, slowing it, but it still hit with enough force to crack the ancient stone.  The thing was huge, bigger even than the misshapen flesh golems they had fought before.  It had a similar look, constructed of body parts from various creatures combined to form a new level of monstrosity, but this creature was formed from pieces of fiends, adding the worst elements of multiple species of demons and demodands into one hideous being.  The force of its impact would have broken every bone in the legs of a mortal creature, but the demonflesh golem indicated no hindrance whatsoever as it lumbered forward, its massive claws reaching out for the two dwarves.</blockquote>

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